DESCRIPTION Five postdoctoral and three pre-doctoral trainee positions are proposed in this research training program, the thrust of which is to provide a broad investigational experience in immunology and molecular biology basic to the study of the pathogenesis of rheumatic diseases. As in the past, the training of MD post-doctoral fellows who plan careers in academic rheumatology receives major emphasis. Pre-doctoral candidates, primarily in the Department of Microbiology/Immunology receives major emphasis. Pre-doctoral candidates, primarily in the Department of Microbiology/Immunology, may select faculty in the Division of Rheumatology and Immunology as mentors, enabling the development of basic immunologists who can apply their research training to questions of relevance t o the field of rheumatology. The training program is largely preceptorial, with more than 75% of the trainee's time devoted to independent research activities in the laboratories of basic and clinical investigators on the faculty, who are drawn primarily from the Division of Rheumatology and Immunology and the Department of Microbiology/Immunology, Ongoing animal and human research encompasses many of the issues relevant to autoimmunity, arthritis , and musculoskeletal disease genetics, regulation ,and function of recognition elements in normal and abnormal immune responses; induction and regulation of cytokine and inflammatory response genes; contribution of autoantibodies to diseases pathogenesis; apoptosis; indication of autoimmunity; experimental arthritis; biochemistry of cartilage and cartilage degradation products; pathophysiology of mechanical joint injury and its relationship to osteoarthritis; and clinical investigation. Trainee research is supported by all of the necessary equipment and resources for modern molecular and cellular immunology, e.g., facilities for DNA and protein sequencing, synthesis of oligonucleotide sand peptides, flow cytometry and cell sorting, HPLC, hydridoma production , immunochemical investigations, and various types of quantitative assays (radioimmunoassays and ELISA), and the maintenance of >60 strains of inbred mice. Core 1 units for media preparation, cell lines, tissue culture ultracentrifugation, radionuclide counting, etc, are available as well. The entire curriculum in the Departments of Microbiology/Immunology, Biochemistry and Biophysics, and the medical school departments i open to trainees, as are special laboratory courses offered by the Program in Molecular Biology. In addition, rheumatology fellows may elect to take a semester course in biometrics offered by the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars program and benefit from close interaction with faculty in the Numerical Sciences Core Unit of Thurston Arthritis Research Enter. Post-doctoral fellows also are required to participate in a variety of regular seminars and teaching conferences, including Rheumatology grand Rounds, an immunology journal club, and a weekly research-in-progress conference where trainees present their research. The curriculum for pre-doctoral trainees is tailored to their needs.